Broken promises
by BrightBrightWorld
Summary: ANBU agent Sianna has made a promise after a tragedy. But when a mysterious man from the 'wrong' side appers from her past, loyalties clash, decisions are forced to be made. Can a promise made to dieing friend really be kept? Better than it sounds, plz r


I stand in the battleground. The sun is setting, dipping below the distant mountains. Its last dyeing rays flood the grounds with blood red and orange colour, reflecting the colour of the sand below my feet.

Dust rises, as the screams of dyeing men pierce the still air. Weapons are flung, words are screamed, chakra is bombarded on the enemy with the hope of crushing them.

Pain.

Death.

Destruction.

It's everywhere.

I sigh as I stand in the middle of this destruction. The wind flutters my long brown hair, flowing freely behind me. I wipe the blood off my katana and swing it back on my back.

This battle tires me. The enemy is strong and persistent. Even the finest of the ninja fall like feathers in the wind. It takes all of the discipline the ANBU training hammered into me not to simply just flee. And of course, it's my own promise that binds me to join this bloody game. The promise I made over the dead body of my best friend. The promise that never again in my life I will fail as a shinobi.

An enemy charges toward me, his hands held high, forming seals. The old pain sears through my veins as I duck his attack. Dozens of water clones suddenly spring up beside me, each wielding kunais. I smirk behind the striped cat mask that hides my features.

I lash out at the nearest clone with my foot, catching him straight in the stomach. As it explodes into millions of water droplets, I punch out at the second clone.

The clones on my left launch a shower of kunais towards me. I leap into the air, watching the kunais slice into the clones on my right. They holler in pain before bursting back into their water forms.

I land behind the real attacker, drawing my katana. He whirls around and stares at me.

"You shouldn't have done that" I whisper cruelly before thrusting my blade into his gut. He falls down, clutching the fatal wound in agony. His mouth gapes, trying to form words. His eyes plead with mine, his hands jerking. No – they are beckoning me closer.

Puzzled, I lean closer. He coughs. Blood is trickling down onto his Hidden Mist Village headband.

"A…A…Akat…suki…" he rasps. My eyebrows shoot up at that. Involuntarily, I seize the man by his collar and pull him close.

"Where?" I demand, my voice struggling not to crack with anger.

"B-behind y-y-you…"

I drop him and whirl around, my bloodied hands clutching the katana tighter.

Behind me, about four feet away stands a figure. He doesn't move to attack or run, he merely observes the bloodshed around him. His long cloak covers most of his body. The black fabric, decorated with red clouds whips around his slim figure in the wind, its high neck hiding half of his face. His long blonde hair, tied up in a high ponytail with a long bang over his left eye flutters in the wind, his visible blue eye staring with a piercing gaze.

Staring at me.

Casually, relax my pose slightly, my katana beside me, dripping with the Mist ninja's blood, further staining the ground. My eyes bore into his.

He smiles. "Still bloodthirsty, are we now, un?"

"I was never bloodthirsty. I'm just doing my duty. You of all people should know that."

He shakes his head, his smile sad. I frown at that. He is never sad.

Something is up.

"No wonder you're an ANBU leader now, un. You were always the best, even when we were small…except when it came to battles with me…un…" he looks up, his smile now taunting.

I growl at that, unwanted memories flooding into my head. I grip my weapon tighter, glad my face is concealed by my mask. I don't want to hurt him, but if he pushes me, I will definitely give him a scar that will shut him up.

He chuckles, his Iwa headband glinting in the dieing sunlight. The long scratch across it flashes as he throws his hair out of his face.

"Don't like being reminded, un? Those times were good; you have to admit that…"

"What do you want, Deidara? I doubt you stopped by when I'm in a battle just to chat." I cut him off, my voice soft. I swing my sword back into its holder.

He turns his head away, his shoulders tensing. For a long moment, unnatural silence stretches between us. I frown behind the mask, anxious.

When he finally speaks, his voice is low and hoarse. I can barely pick it up above the screams and clashes of the battle.

"I have come to kill you."

I stare at him in utter disbelief. My jaw slacks open, my eyes widen to the size of dinner plates. My thoughts are an utter turmoil. I was refusing to believe what I've just heard.

_I must have heard it wrong. I must have…he couldn't possibly have said that…_

"W-what?!" I manage to stutter.

"I have come to kill you. I have been ordered by Leader-sama. He says you have been causing us too much trouble, slowing or failing too many of our missions. He said you became a great potential danger to Akatsuki. It's my assignment to…take care of that…" He smiled weakly. "You should consider this a compliment coming from him, un…"

I wanted to scream, to speak out, to protest against the words he just said, but they were stuck in my throat. My muscles were frozen, useless. I just stood there, helplessly gaping behind the mask at the blonde man that stood before me.

_Deidara why?_

_Why you?_

He raised his head. I saw something glinting in the sunlight. It took me a moment to recognize what that was.

The tear was followed by another. I looked into his visible blue eye, flooded with moisture. I felt something trickle down my own cheeks. I squeeze my eyes shut, once again thankful or my mask.

"I'm sorry, Anna-chan" he whispers brokenly. I smile weakly at my old nickname. Anna-chan. He used to call me that a long time ago…when neither of us wore headbands and neither of us knew the hardships of shinobi life.

Back when Renyia was still alive…

"But an order is an order" he finished. We both knew what this meant. In both the criminal underworld and in the ANBU teams, orders drew harsh cold lines, not to be crossed.

"Is there really no other way?" I ask, desperate for a loophole. Anything to make this nightmare disappear.

"No! Believe me, I've tried!" he cries out, his voice laced by a hint of desperation. He is determined not to let anymore feelings escape.

I hang my head, and then straighten up. I blink my tear-stained eyes dry and look straight ahead at him. A sudden gust of wind sends his blonde locks and my brown ones fluttering across our faces.

I stare at Deidara. The man who came crashing back into my life a few weeks ago. The man who, by my position and profession, I should have hated. The man from my past who I thought I would never see again.

Yet my heart lurches painfully as I silently make my decision.

I reach up for my katana.

_I'm sorry Deidara, my friend. An order is an order. But a promise is a promise._

I wrench my sword free and swing it above my head, ready.

"Then let's see how far you can go."


End file.
